This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
In automotive security, systems are under development that allow authentication for access to and/or starting of a vehicle using a Bluetooth connection to a mobile device. Such systems generally require that a plurality of antennas be mounted on the vehicle in order to determine the mobile device's location relative to the vehicle. In some of the systems, one Bluetooth transceiver is connected to a plurality of antennas by way of a switch. Other systems include a plurality of Bluetooth transceivers, each with one antenna. While these systems may be suitable for their intended use, they have several disadvantages and are subject to improvement. For example, in systems with one Bluetooth transceiver connected to a plurality of antennas, inaccurate results are often produced because simultaneous measurements cannot be collected from each antenna, and the measurements are time dependent. Having one Bluetooth transceiver connected to multiple antennas also undesirably increases energy consumption in the mobile device because more communication packets are required to collect a single set of measurements (i.e., one measurement from each antenna). Connecting each of the plurality of antennas to a single Bluetooth transceiver requires a large amount of coaxial cable, which is expensive, thus making such systems further undesirable.
Systems that use a plurality of Bluetooth transceivers, each with one antenna, may produce more accurate results, but are more expensive to produce due to the use of additional antennas and transceivers. Further, when the transceivers are mounted outside of the vehicle, the inter-module communication (e.g., CAN, LIN, CXPI) of the vehicle is exposed to potential attacks from outside the vehicle. Current consumption is also increased in the vehicle due to the inclusion of multiple transceivers.
The present teachings provide for a mobile device location and authentication system that addresses the shortcomings of current systems, and provides numerous advantages as described herein and as one skilled in the art will appreciate.